


The Trial of Lucius Malfoy

by inamac



Series: The Trial Of Lucius Malfoy [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Legal Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-03
Updated: 2011-03-03
Packaged: 2017-10-16 02:04:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/167245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inamac/pseuds/inamac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucius defends his actions during the Wizarding War.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trial of Lucius Malfoy

**  
** 1\. Avada...  


"Now," the young witch who had landed the unenviable task of questioning Lucius Malfoy at the formal Investigation into the activities of the surviving Death Eaters following the end of the Wizarding War, flipped over a few pages in the topmost of the two-foot high pile of folders on the table in front of her, "We come to your reaction to the release of your House Elf, the late Dobby. Do you deny that you attempted to cast the Killing Curse on Mr Potter at approximately 5.30pm on the twenty ninth of May 1993?"

Lucius Malfoy drew himself up. "Yes," he said.

There was a ripple of consternation around the Court. The witch's eyes narrowed. "Really? You admit it? I remind you, Mr Malfoy, you are under Wizard's Oath."

Lucius gave a deep sigh. "You really should be more careful about the wording of your questions. Double negatives can be so misleading. To clarify," he turned to the dais where the three Determinator Warlocks sat in judgement over this War Investigation. "Yes, I do deny that I attempted to use the Killing Curse on that occasion. Or on any subsequent occasion. It is not a Curse that I am in the habit of using, particularly against schoolchildren, no matter how annoying they are."

The witch coughed, drawing the defendant's attention back to her. "A pity that your wand is not available for us to test the veracity of that statement, Malfoy. I remind you that the pensieve testimony of Mr Potter distinctly shows you raising your wand and beginning the curse with the word "Avada", prior to the intervention of the Elf. Do you suggest that Mr Potter is _lying_?"

"I suggest that he is," Lucius paused, weighing his words, " _Mistaken_. I was distraught. The boy had been insufferably forward in making accusations to Dumbledore, and he had just played a trick that had severed long-standing magical bonds between my family and one of our dependants. I intended to silence his wagging tongue – at least temporarily."

He turned back from the Investigatrix, who had clearly not expected any defence to her accusations, and again addressed his peers on the dais. He spread his hands, the traditional gesture to demonstrate that he was wandless and harmless. "The spell that I intended to use was a simple, if old-fashioned, silencing charm. _Avada Kithaab_. A spell to banish speech, rather than life. Unfortunately the precipitate reaction of the Elf prevented me from finishing the incantation."

"You expect us to believe that, in the heat of the moment, you used an obscure old spell rather than a simple _Silencio_?" The witch could not keep a note of sarcasm from her voice. It was unfortunate that she had chosen to match sarcasm with a master.

Lucius' smile was predatory. "It seems that I must remind _you_ that I am under Wizards Oath. The spell may be old-fashioned and obscure to you, but I assure you that it, and others of similar form, have been in use within my family for generations. My son will testify that I have used it frequently to silence his own... enthusiasms. Think of it as the difference between 'Please be quiet' and 'Shut up!'. On this occasion I regret that I was not in the mood to be polite to Mr Potter, but I was certainly not trying to kill him. That would have been foolish. And also impossible, given the magical protections that Dumbledore had in place within Hogwarts."

The senior Warlock leaned forward in his chair. "I believe Mr Malfoy has made his point, Madam Prosecutor. Shall we press on?"

o0o

**Author's Note:**

> There are a number of questions about Lucius' actions in both books and films that have been occupying the minds of fans for some time. This series gives some of my answers. This particular story was prompted by speculation on Lucius' apparent use of _Avada Kedavra_ at the end of the film 'Chamber of Secrets'.
> 
> As Who fandom has remarked – it is the job of fandom to provide rational reasons for characters' actions when writers, actors and directors screw up...


End file.
